Table of Contents
Operation Hummingbird
In May 2017 Police were asked to investigate the alarming and unexplained rise in deaths and near-fatal collapses of premature babies in the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit.
The Police initiated an investigation into the deaths of 17 infants and further incidents involving 16 other babies, some of whom now suffer from enduring injuries. The Investigation was named Operation Hummingbird.
Lucy Letby
Lucy Letby, born on January 4, 1990, in Hereford, England, spent her formative years in this picturesque town. Her educational journey began at Aylestone School and Hereford Sixth Form College.
From an early age, Lucy Letby exhibited a commitment to her aspirations. A childhood friend fondly recalls her strong desire to become a nurse specialising in new-born care. This ambition fuelled her drive to excel academically and professionally.
Her path led her to the University of Chester, where she pursued her nursing education. Throughout her three years of training, she was not only a diligent student but also an active participant in practical experiences. These experiences included placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Lucy Letby’s pursuit of knowledge marked a significant achievement within her family, as she became the first to attend university. Her dedication culminated in her graduation in September 2011. Her father, a retired finance manager, and her mother, an accounts clerk, proudly supported her journey.
In September 2011, Lucy Letby earned her qualification as a Band 5 nurse. Embarking on her professional journey, she commenced full-time employment at the Countess of Chester Hospital in January 2012. Her dedication and expertise soon led her to specialize in caring for intensive care babies, a role she embraced in the spring of 2015.
“Behind that angelic smile there was a much darker side to her personality… She betrayed the trust the public would have in a qualified nurse“
Pascale Jones, CPS
The Victims
During her tenure at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Cheshire, Lucy Letby embarked on a chilling year-long series of fatal incidents.
A court directive has been enacted to prevent the disclosure of the names of both the surviving and deceased children who were subjected to Letby’s attacks. This order also extends to safeguarding the privacy of the parents and witnesses linked to these children.
Instead, each child was given a letter when referred to in the public domain.
Baby A
A baby boy, murdered at on 8 June 2015 by Letby who injected air into his bloodstream.
Baby A had been born a minute after his twin sister, at 8:31pm. He was born prematurely, delivered by Caesarean section, and was admitted to the intensive care room in the neonatal unit of the hospital.
He was in good condition and did well, and by the following morning was breathing well without extra oxygen help and given expressed breast milk.
Letby came to work at 7:30pm for a handover from another nurse who looked after baby A during the day shift.
After the 30-minute handover, at 8pm Letby became the designated nurse for baby A, and at 8:26pm she called a doctor to the baby’s incubator and the on-call consultant was also alerted.
Both doctor and consultant noted an “odd discolouration” on the boy’s skin, patches of pink over blue skin that appeared and disappeared.
This became a “hallmark” of some of the cases in which Letby had injected air into the bloodstream of a victim.
Despite resuscitation attempts, baby A died at 8:58pm, within 90 minutes of Letby coming on duty.
Baby B
The twin sister of Baby A, who Letby tried to kill shortly after midnight on 9 June 2015.
Baby B required some resuscitation at birth but recovered quickly and stabilised, shortly before midnight it was noted her blood/oxygen levels had fallen and that nasal prongs providing additional oxygen had been dislodged.
At about 12:30am the baby b’s alarm monitor sounded as the youngster was seen to be blue in colour, was not breathing and was limp. An on-call Doctor was alerted and the child recovered quickly once resuscitated.
Mercifully” Baby B does not have appear to have suffered any adverse consequences.
Baby B was subjected to some form of sabotage and may have been injected with a dose of air.
Baby C
A baby boy, murdered on 14 June 2015 after Letby injected air into his stomach through a nose tube, making him unable to breathe. He suffered a cardiac arrest.
Baby C had been born prematurely at 30 weeks, weighing only 800 grams, but despite going into intensive care was in good condition.
On the nightshift of 14 June, Letby was supposed to be looking after another, more poorly baby, in another room. After Baby C’s designated nurse briefly left the room, he suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed, and when his nurse returned, she found Letby was the only person in the room.
He recovered very quickly, but just 15 minutes later he collapsed again – where Letby was seen at his cot side once more. He stopped breathing again, but despite a crash call, this time he did not recover.
Baby C died because his breathing became compromised and he suffered a cardiac arrest.
Baby D
A baby girl murdered on 22 June 2015 after Letby intentionally injected air into the bloodstream.
The baby girl, who was the only baby not born prematurely, lost her colour and became floppy in her father’s arms shortly after she was delivered by caesarean section after her mother’s waters broke early.
Baby D should not have been in the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit, and was only there because of a mistake made by the hospital.
After being born with a suspected infection because of the mistake, she responded well to treatment until she deteriorated and collapsed three times in the early hours of 22 June.
Baby E
A baby boy, murdered on 4 August 2015 by an injection of air into the bloodstream. Baby E was an identical twin boy, and was supposed to be born at Liverpool Women’s Centre. But on the day of their birth the hospital was full so their mother was sent to the Countess of Chester.
One evening Baby E’s mother visited her son in the neonatal unit, she interrupted Lucy Letby who was attacking Baby E, although she did not realise it at the time.”
When the mother arrived, her son was “distressed” and bleeding from the mouth, Baby E’s mother recalled Letby tried to reassure her and told her a Doctor would review the youngster’s condition and she should leave the unit.
Baby E went on to suffer significant blood loss later in the evening, with a treating Doctor saying he had never encountered such a large bleed in a small baby.
Baby F
A baby boy, the twin brother of Baby E, who Letby attempted murder on 5 August 2015.
The day after murdering Baby E, Letby used insulin to murder baby E’s twin brother, Baby F.
Baby F was prescribed a TPN (total parenteral nutrition) bag of fluids and later suffered an unexpected drop in his blood sugar levels and surge in heart rate.
Checks on his insulin levels were carried out which showed, conclusive evidence Letby had given Child F insulin to poison him. Letby had injected insulin into the TPN bag before it was hung up to give to the child.
Baby G
A baby girl, who Letby attempted to murder twice, on 7 and 21 September 2015. Baby G was born exceptionally premature up to four months earlier at a different hospital and weighed just 1lb 2oz.
In mid-August she was transferred to the Countess of Chester’s neonatal unit and was doing well in the following weeks.
At 100 days after the youngster’s birth nurses put up banners and made a cake to mark the milestone. But, in the early hours of the following day Letby fed an excessive amount of milk to Baby G through a nasogastric tube and also, probably, injected air.
The consequence was that Baby G vomited out of her cot and on to a nearby chair and the floor. She had suffered a collapse and was not breathing. Baby G was moved back to the hospital where she was born and quickly recovered before she returned to the Countess of Chester on 16 September.
On 21 September after being fed milk via a nasogastric tube by Letby, Baby G then projectile vomited twice, and stopped breathing briefly. Baby G was later connected to a monitor that measures oxygen saturations and heart rate levels. Baby G had been left severely disabled as a result.
Baby I
A baby girl murdered on 23 October 2015 after Letby tried four times to kill her. Letby injected air into baby I’s stomach through a nasogastric tube.
In the second incident, a night shift colleague recalled Letby was standing in the doorway of a darkened room in the neonatal unit when the defendant remarked baby I looked pale.
The fellow nurse turned on the light and saw child I “appeared to be at the point of death and was not breathing”. The baby girl collapsed and required chest compressions in the early hours of 23 October 2015 but was successfully resuscitated and recovered to the extent she was showing signs of hunger.
Less than a hour later the child’s monitor alarm sounded and a colleague of Letby responded and found Letby standing by the child’s incubator.
Baby I then collapsed and died after attempts to revive her, led by a Doctor, were unsuccessful.
An expert paediatrician who reviewed baby I’s case had concluded the youngster’s deteriorations were consistent with the deliberate administration of a large amount of air into her stomach via a nasogastric tube The paediatrician also believed that on the final occasion Baby I had been injected with air into her bloodstream which led to her screaming, followed quickly by her collapse.
Letby then sent the baby girl’s parents a sympathy card.
Baby L
A twin boy, brother of Baby M, who Letby attempted to murder on 9 April 2016. The attempts were in similar circumstances to two other twin boys, Baby E and Baby F.
Eight months earlier Letby attempted to murder Baby F by poisoning him with insulin.
On 9 April 2016, Letby was working a day shift when she is said to have given an unauthorised dose of insulin to Baby L. Letby had failed to kill Baby F so decided to increase the dose of insulin administered to Baby L.
Baby M
Twin boy, brother of Baby L, who Letby attempted to murder on 9 April 2016.
On 9 April 2016, as Letby was working a day shift she is said to have given an unauthorised dose of insulin to baby L and, while that attack was underway, she turned her attentions to baby M by administering air into his circulation.
Baby M came “close to death” after his heart rate and breathing dropped dramatically without warning but improved on the night-shift that followed and went on to make a speedy recovery.
Baby N
A baby boy Letby attempted to murder on 3 June 2016. He was born weighing 3.6lbs.
His clinical condition was described as excellent although he did have mild haemophilia, a blood disorder.
Letby believed, wrongly, that his haemophilia gave her cover to attack him because if he bled it would be put down to the condition.
At 1:05am, the day-old baby suffered a sudden lowering of his blood oxygen levels to life-threatening levels. Unusually for such a small, premature baby he was crying and screaming.
Baby N recovered after emergency assistance from doctors and nurses.
Independent medical experts said the baby’s sudden deterioration was consistent with some kind of inflicted injury or him having received an injection of air.
Baby O
A baby triplet brother to Baby P Letby murdered on 23 June 2016.
Baby O was in good condition and stable up until the afternoon of 23 June when he suffered a deterioration.
A post-mortem examination found unclotted blood in his body from a liver injury and a coroner certified death on the basis of intra-abdominal bleeding.
The pathologist was of the opinion the liver injury was not the result of chest compressions in resuscitation, but was most likely an impact type trauma. The pathologist also concluded Baby O had fatefully received excessive amounts of air into the bloodstream and through a nasogastric tube.
Baby P
A baby triplet – brother of Baby O – Letby murdered on 24 June 2016 – the day after his brother died. Baby P suffered an acute deterioration before preparations were put in place to move him to another hospital.
Just before the planned transfer, a doctor was said to be optimistic about his prospects but then all of a sudden Lucy Letby said to him something like ‘he’s not leaving alive here, is he?'”.
Experts who were tasked with reviewing Baby P’s case said the most likely cause was air injected into his stomach which compromised his breathing.
Arrest
In June 2018, Letby was formally identified as a suspect and subsequently apprehended, marking her initial arrest in the case.
Her account depicted a scene where law enforcement forcibly removed her from her residence at 6 am while she was in her nightgown.
A subsequent revelation emerged post-conviction when body camera footage displayed the sequence of events. The video indicated that the police had knocked on her door precisely at 6:03 am, and she was escorted from her house approximately 11 minutes later, her wrists restrained in handcuffs.
Sporting a blue tracksuit, Letby was then escorted to a silver vehicle where she was seated in the back, her face etched with an expression of deep trepidation.
During the trial, the prosecution contended that her initial claim was an attempt to evoke sympathy from the jury, suggesting a deliberate fabrication on her part.
Trial and Conviction
Operation Hummingbird commenced with the initial arrest of Letby at her Chester residence in July 2018. The investigation’s peak witnessed the dedicated involvement of close to 70 officers and civilian personnel.
These diligent detectives meticulously amassed a staggering 32,000 pages of evidentiary material, delving deep into a vast expanse of medical records and data.
Leading up to Letby’s impending trial in October 2022, an exhaustive effort saw approximately 2,000 individuals interviewed, while nearly 250 potential witnesses were identified. Time and time again, the trail of evidence consistently converged on the unassuming young nurse hailing from Hereford. Despite her soft-spoken demeanour, she was frequently observed going above and beyond by putting in extra hours, marking significant strides in the early stages of her burgeoning career.
Letby underwent interviews lasting approximately 30 hours during her three arrests in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Although Detective Superintendent Hughes noted her cooperation, he observed a lack of overt empathy or sympathy in her demeanour. Her responses tended to be clinically oriented.
After a ten-month trial, the jurors dedicated over 110 hours meticulously examining months of distressing evidence.
On August 18, 2023, the 33-year-old perpetrator was found guilty of the heinous acts of murdering seven infants and attempting to end the lives of six other young children at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
In a calculated manner, Letby administered fatal air injections to some babies, subjected others to forced milk consumption, and lethally poisoned two infants using insulin.
Her absence from the sentencing hearing did not deter the judge, who proceeded to address her figuratively as though she were present in the dock.
“There was a malevolence bordering on sadism in your actions.“
Mr Justice Goss
Letby’s verdict brought down upon her multiple whole-life sentences, a solemn distinction that has only been bestowed upon four women in the history of the UK, reflecting the gravity of her crimes.
Reserved for the gravest of offenses, whole-life orders stand as the most severe punitive measures the justice system can impose.
As Lucy Letby embarks on her lifetime behind bars, Operation Hummingbird remains in full swing, extending its investigation. Authorities are delving into Letby’s entire professional history, spanning her time at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, with suspicions of additional victims coming to light.
Paul Hughes, a senior investigator at Cheshire Constabulary, emphasises their commitment to an exhaustive inquiry, aiming to confidently assert that no stone has been left unturned in scrutinising every potential case.
With each passing day, more families are faced with the grim possibility that their children could be counted among the victims of one of the most prolific modern-day serial killers in Britain.
Thus, the perplexing saga of Lucy Letby presses on, a harrowing reminder of the depths of human cruelty and the pursuit of justice for the innocent.
“Our worlds were shattered when we encountered evil disguised as a caring nurse.”
Mother of Baby E and F